I'll Write It Myself! : An evening of autobiographical chamber works

Woodmansee, cello

Program
String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor by Bedřich Smetana
String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor by Dmitry Shostakovich

“I reflected that when I die it’s not likely anyone will write a quartet dedicated to my memory. So I decided to write it myself. You could even write on the cover: ‘Dedicated to the memory of the composer of this quartet.’”- Dmitry Shostakovich
So yes, Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich was a bit melodramatic. But with the war and political turmoil surrounding him at the time (aka the fear of imminent death), he composed an absolutely epic autobiographical piece of chamber music. 
Almost a century earlier, Czech composer Bedřich Smetana also wrote a stunning string quartet that told the story his own life - a prolific 50 years of music-making that (like the famous Beethoven) was bookended by a sudden, devastating loss of hearing.
Given these pieces were their swansongs, these quartets are some the most bewitching, spectacular works either of them ever produced. We're squeezing two lifetimes of song into one evening. You won't want to miss it.

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Sponsor: International Hotel Manilatown Center